PCB Design Engineer, Avionics Hardware

Gitai • Los Angeles, CA

2d • Onsite

About The Position

GITAI is a space robotics company focused on reducing the cost of work in space. We develop robotic systems for orbital, lunar, and defense applications, designed for tasks such as assembly, inspection, maintenance, construction, and surface operations. This role is for a PCB Design Engineer, Avionics Hardware, responsible for board-level electrical hardware design for spacecraft, robotic systems, and space defense programs. This is a hands-on PCB design and avionics hardware role, not primarily embedded software, firmware, or FPGA. The ideal candidate will have personally designed real PCBs and guided them through fabrication, assembly, bring-up, and testing. The role requires close collaboration with mechanical, firmware, and software engineers to ensure tight integration across all hardware and software components. Experience from industries like robotics, automotive, medical devices, industrial equipment, drones, defense, or consumer hardware is welcome, as space-specific knowledge can be acquired after joining. The position is for someone who can make practical trade-offs, communicate them clearly, and drive hardware development in a fast-paced, early-stage startup environment where requirements may evolve.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or a closely related hardware engineering field, or equivalent hands-on experience.
• 3+ years of hands-on PCB design experience using Altium or a similar ECAD tool.
• 1+ year of full-time experience at an early-stage hardware startup, ideally Seed to Series B, is required. Internship-only experience does not meet this requirement.
• Experience personally owning PCB designs from schematic capture through layout, fabrication release, assembly support, board bring-up, and test.
• Strong practical understanding of PCB fabrication and assembly, including stackups, layout constraints, fabrication notes, component placement, inspection, DFM/DFA/DFT, and vendor feedback.
• Ability to make and explain board-level design trade-offs across electrical performance, manufacturability, reliability, thermal behavior, packaging, component availability, testability, cost, and schedule.
• Experience working with mechanical, firmware, software, systems, and manufacturing teams to integrate electrical hardware into a real product or system.
• Hands-on experience debugging PCBAs using lab equipment such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power supplies, electronic loads, multimeters, and test fixtures.
• Experience with mixed-signal, power, high-speed digital, sensor, communication, motor-control, or other board-level hardware systems.
• Ability to communicate clearly, document decisions, and work through ambiguous hardware problems with urgency and discipline.
• U.S. citizenship required, as this role will support U.S. government space and defense programs and may require eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.
• Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the U.S. This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship.
• To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), GITAI Employees must be a U.S. citizen, lawful U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce, as applicable.

Nice To Haves

• Space-specific requirements can be learned after joining.

Responsibilities

• Own PCB design for avionics hardware used in spacecraft, robotic systems, and space defense programs, from early architecture through schematic, layout, fabrication release, assembly, bring-up, and test.
• Design schematics and PCB layouts in Altium or similar ECAD tools, including stackup definition, layout constraints, design rules, fabrication notes, assembly drawings, and release packages.
• Make practical board-level design trade-offs across electrical performance, manufacturability, reliability, thermal behavior, packaging, component availability, testability, schedule, and cost.
• Work closely with mechanical engineers on board shape, mounting, connector placement, harness routing, enclosure constraints, thermal paths, vibration constraints, and assembly sequence.
• Work closely with firmware and software engineers on interfaces, board bring-up, telemetry, debugging, fault handling, test coverage, and hardware/software integration.
• Collaborate with systems, propulsion, and manufacturing teams to ensure avionics hardware works inside the full vehicle or robotic system, not only as a standalone board.
• Apply DFM, DFA, and DFT principles early in the design process and work directly with PCB fabrication and assembly vendors to resolve manufacturing issues before and during builds.
• Select components with attention to electrical performance, lifecycle risk, lead time, procurement constraints, package size, thermal behavior, derating, and test access.
• Bring up and debug PCBAs using lab equipment, test fixtures, firmware tools, and system-level test setups.
• Support integration, environmental testing, field testing, and failure investigations by identifying root causes and driving design changes quickly.
• Create and maintain clear engineering documentation, including schematics, layout files, BOMs, fabrication packages, assembly notes, test plans, issue logs, and design review materials.
• Move hardware forward in an early-stage startup environment where requirements change, interfaces are not always clean, and practical judgment matters more than process.

Benefits

• Health Insurance – Platinum medical plan with 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees; 90% for dependents
• 401(k) Plan – Company match up to 3.5%, with traditional and Roth options
• Equity – Stock option eligibility depending on role
• Relocation Support – Available for qualifying positions
• Time Off – 12 paid holidays per year, 12 days of paid vacation per year, and paid sick leave (in accordance with applicable law)
• Office Perks – Free snacks and drinks, plus regular team events

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level